Friday, May 16, 2014

"Tomorrow, as we commemorate the 10th annual International Day Against
Homophobia and Transphobia, we recommit ourselves to the fundamental
belief that all people should be treated equally, that they should have
the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, and that no one should
face violence or discrimination -- no matter who they are or whom they
love.

"This year, the United States celebrates the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education,
the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, and the 45th anniversary
of the Stonewall riots. In doing so, we reflect on lessons learned from
our own civil rights struggles and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring
that the human rights of all people are universally protected.

"At a time when, tragically, we are seeing increased efforts to
criminalize or oppress LGBT persons, we call on partners everywhere to
join us in defending the equal rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters,
and in ensuring they are treated with the dignity and respect they
deserve." - President Barack Obama, via press release.

India's ruling Congress party admitted
defeat this morning as the Narendra Modi wave washed over the country
in a scale few had predicted. Initial counting in the country’s general
election pointed to a massive victory for his opposition Bharatiya
Janata Party and the worst ever performance for the Congress. As noisy
victory celebrations involving drums and horns broke out outside the
BJP’s headquarters in the centre of Delhi where 100,000 traditional
Indian sweets had been ordered in preparation, a few streets away at the
Congress’s offices, the mood was grey. “We accept defeat. We are ready
to sit in the opposition,” Congress party spokesman Rajeev Shukla told
reporters. “Modi promised the moon and stars to the people. People
bought that dream.”

Modi's singular message on the economy
has helped him ignore or beat back criticism of his personal life --
including his strong links to a right-wing Hindu nationalist group, as
well as his four-decade marriage to a retired school teacher he had
never mentioned publicly until last month. Born in 1950, Modi will be
India's first prime minister born after the country's violent 1947
partition and independence from imperial Britain. His rise marks a
paradigm shift for the secular democracy after decades of welfare
policies that have emphasized lifting the country's impoverished. Modi
has extolled the merits of trickle-down economics through
industrialization. He also has maintained strong links with the
conservative, paramilitary Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh, or RSS, which some describe as neo-fascist.

The right-wing Hindu nationalist party
will return to its leadership role after 10 years, as the ruling
Congress Party conceded defeat Friday. Modi’s critics remain uneasy
about how the Hindu nationalist leader will govern a diverse nation with
many religious minorities. As governor of Gujarat state, he was
criticized for his handling of Hindu-Muslim rioting that killed more
than 1,000 people in 2002. India’s Supreme Court cleared Modi of charges
that he incited the violence.

Just over a week since taking office,
President Luis Guillermo Solís made history Friday morning when he
became the first Costa Rican leader to raise the rainbow flag of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement on even mast with the
Costa Rican red-white-and-blue tricolor on the lawn of the Casa
Presidencial. Vice President Ana Helena Chacón hoisted the flag in honor
of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, May 17.
“This is the house of all Costa Ricans. When we say all Costa Ricans we
mean all, without exclusion, without violence, without harassment in
absolute respect for the rights of each one,” Solís told a crowd of LGBT
leaders and advocates during his brief comments on the lawn.

LGBT Costa Ricans enjoy protections in employment, public
accommodations, and other areas, but same-sex marriage, gay adoption,
and military service remain banned. Perhaps that will change soon.

If the mind congeals in one place and
remains with one thing, it is like frozen water and is unable to be used
freely: ice that can wash neither hands nor feet. When the mind is
melted and is used like water, extending throughout the body, it can be
sent wherever one wants to send it. This is the Right Mind.